Bridle-bit



-(No Model.) v

" A. H. H'ANSCOM.

BRIDLE BIT.

No. 878,088. Patented Jmlo, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.V

ALBERT H. HANSCOM, OF WINTERPORT, MAINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,088, dated January 10, 1888. Application filed June n, 1887. seria No. 241,534. (No moan.)

To @ZZ whom t may'concrn:

Beit known that I, ALBERT H. HANsooM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wi nterport, in the county of Waldo and State ofv Maine, have invented new and useful Improvement's in Bridle-Bits, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

drawings.

Flexible bridle-bits heretofore made have been either too yielding or not yielding enough,

or so constructed Vas to yield easily at a gentle strain, and become, in case great strain is put upon them, at once entirely rigid and of no more use than a common unyielding bit. AnL vother class of yielding bits have their yielding element either wholly or partly made of rubber, and experience has shown that rubber or any of such gums will in ashort time become setM that is, the rubber will become like dough or putty, ready to take any shape, but entirely inelastic and unfit to form any part of a bit.

The object of my invention is to form a metallic framelwork for the bit which shall serve to connect the cheek-ringsby a strong flexible intermediate ligature composed of plates of metal' which need not be tempered, and to combine with such plates a metallic spring bent so as to form what is usually termed an elliptic spring. This elliptic spring is inserted within the frame-work that forms the ligature between the cheek-rings, and so conh "fined that it cannot get out of place, and yet is free to slide longitudinally as the frame of the bit bends, and having always a tendency to bring the frame or ligature back to a straight line. By this arrangement and construction I am enabled to produce a bit that is yielding to any desired extent and will never set7 or become distorted in any manner-a bit that will be made quite cheap, very durable, light, and always to be depended upon.

In the drawings, a a represent the cheekrings, of any suitable form or pattern,l which i are loosely pivoted to the eyes b b, which latter are preferably made slltted, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit their being expanded for receiving the cheek-rings, and afterward, to be closed up, as shown.

b' b are the inwardly-projecting Shanks of the eyes b b, as shown in Fig. 2.

'c and d represent the thin metal plates ex i tending lengthwise from one eye to t-he other. One of said plates, c, is firmly secured to the shanks b b by means ofthe rivets e c, (one or more for each shank.) The other plate, d, is

held in contact with the shanks b b; but it is free to adjust itself lengthwise relative to said Shanks as the bitis bent, said plate dhaving for v this purpose slots d d', through which the rivets e e pass loosely and above which the latter are headed in a manner like that shown in the patent granted September 7, 1886, No. 348,834, to John A. Fairbanks. I prefer to make the plates c d of the sectional form, as fully shown in Fig. 3.

To the interior of the plate d is secured in a suitable manner, preferably by means of one or more rivets, the elliptic metal spring f, the ends of which are Vmade to press against the inside ofthe plate c at or near its ends; and in practice I prefer to have the ends of said metal f springf enter grooves or cut-away portions b b in the shanks lfb', as shown in Fig. 2. I Said spring serves tol resistthe pulling strain of the bit and allows it to yield properly relative to such pulling strain, and when the latter is relieved the said spring will cause the bit to become straight, as originally.

Instead of only one single metal spring, as shown in the drawings, two opposing springs may be used, or elliptic leaf-springs 'may be used, without departing from the spirit of my invention.'

g is the external leather or other covering, as usual.

It will thus be seen that the yielding ligature is all metal and composed of the metal plates c d, connected to the eyes of the cheekrings, and the metal spring f, interposed bei IOO tween the metal plates, and in the structure no rubber or solid filling is used.

XVhat I Wish lo secure by Letters Patent, and claim, is-

l. In a bridlebit, the eyes b b for the Cheekl rings, and the metal strips or plates c d, conneeted to the shanks b b of said eyes, in coinbination with the metal spring f, interposed between snid plates, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a bridle-bit, the eyes b b and plates c (l, one of which is firmly secured to the Shanks b b' of said eyes and the other free to slide thereon, combined with the interposed metal springf, adapted to bear against the interior surfaces of said plates 0 d, as set forth.

The eyes b b, having shanks b b', provided with grooves or recesses b b, for receiving the ends of the lnetalspring, combined with the plates c d and interposed metal spring f, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, on this 14th (lay of June, A.D. 1887.

ALBERT H. HANSCOM.

Witnesses:

ALBAN ANDRN, HENRY CHADBOURN. 

